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-:- News & Events -:-

Coming July 2, 2013 - Venus in Winter

Based on the first forty years of the life of Bess of Hardwick, 1527-1608, the formid-
able four-times widowed Tudor dynast who began life in genteel poverty and ended as the richest and most powerful woman in England after Queen Elizabeth; built Chatsworth House and Hardwick Hall; and is the forebear of numerous noble lines including the Dukedoms of Devonshire, Norfolk, Somerset, and Newcastle, the Earls of Lincoln, Portsmouth, Kellie, and Pembroke, the Baron Waterpark, and the current royal family of Britain.
Pre-order now on Amazon!

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Gillian will be teaching two online courses on writing great historical fiction!

Jan. 14-25, 2013
- Young Adult Chapter of Romance Writers of America. To register or learn more, please visit yarwa.com/programs

March 1-10, 2013 - Outreach International Chapter of Romance Writers of America, oirwa.com

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March 9, 2013
Authors on the Move, Sacramento - details here: saclibraryfoundation.org

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May 3-5, 2013
Gold Rush Writers' Conference, goldrushwriters.com

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June 21-23, 2013
Historical Novel Society Conference, historicalnovelsociety.org

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In the runup to the publication of The September Queen, I blogged about each day's events in Charles's six-week odyssey in trying to escape from England after the Battle of Worcester on September 3, 1651. theroyalmiracle.blogspot.com

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Gillian's books are now available on Past Times Books, a website devoted to historical fiction in ebook format. Please visit and see the wonderful selection of books! pasttimesbooks.com
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-:- Interviews -:-

Historical Fiction Examiner

Unusual Historicals

Interview on Inside bay Area

Interview with Richard Sutton, fellow author at Pastimes

Interview on
Number One Novels

Live Chat on Passages to the Past

Q&A on Misadventures
of Moppet

Interview with Kayla Posney of
Pittsburgh Historical Fiction Examiner

Interview with Carl Kozlowski in Pasadena Weekly

Unusual Historicals interview

Peeking Between the Pages interview

Seductive Musings interview


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sign up for
occasional newsletters

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Links of Interest:
The Diary of Samuel Pepys


-:- The Darling Strumpet -:-

Available now!
| read more |

-:- The September Queen - :-

Available now!
| read more |


"Bagwell may be one of the newer writers in the historical fiction genre, but she is
one of the most talented!" - Pittsburgh Historical Fiction Examiner

"Don't you just love it when you find a new favourite author!!!!"
- Jaffa Reads Too book blog



Historical Novel Society conference 2012, the Nell-Rochester scene from The Darling Strumpet with Diana Gabaldon reading the narration.




Historical Novel Society conference 2011, the Nell-Rochester scene from The Darling Strumpet with Diana Gabaldon reading the narration.



-:- Biography -:-

Gillian Bagwell grew up in Berkeley, California, and began her professional life as an actress, studying at the University of California Berkeley and the Drama Studio London at Berkeley before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. She moved into directing and producing theatre, founding The Pasadena Shakespeare Company, where she served as artistic director for nine years, producing thirty-seven critically acclaimed productions.

She united her life-long love of books, British history, and theatre in writing her first novel, The Darling Strumpet, based on the life of Nell Gwynn. Her second novel, The September Queen, is the first fictional account of the perilous and romantic odyssey of Jane Lane, an ordinary English girl who risked her life to help the young Charles II escape after the disastrous Battle of Worcester in 1651 by disguising him as her servant. Gillian recently returned to Berkeley and is at work on her third novel, about the formidable four-times widowed Tudor dynast Bess of Hardwick.



-:- Articles & Other Writings -:-

"The Royal Miracle"
on History in an Hour


Doggett's Coat and Badge,
the Oldest Race in the World


Christmas Recipes from
Tudor and Stuart England


The Next Best Thing to Being
There - Recreating a Journey

"The Royal Oak"

Riding Pillion

Portait Miniatures

Priest Holes

Seventeenth Century Memorabilia

When You Can't Get There
from Here

"The Royal Oak"

The Royal Miracle

Gillian's list on Time Out's
101 Things To Do in London

The History of Gingerbread

  Frost Fairs on the River Thames

Twelfth Night Traditions

on The Darling Strumpet

How Life Can Change a Writing Space

Gillian's articles on the months from May 1660 to January 1661, to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Restoration of Charles II, the reopening of the playhouses that had been closed for eighteen years under Cromwell, and the first appearance of an actress on the English stage:

May 1660: Hoydens and Firebrands
June 1660: Reading the Past
July 1660: Historical Tapestry
Aug. 1660: Passages To The Past
Sept. 1660: History Hoydens
Oct. 1660: Historical Fiction Connection
Nov. 1660: Historically Obsessed
Dec. 1660: Nell Gwynn Blog
  Jan. 1661: Historical Tapestry

-:- Performance Coaching -:-

Lose your nerves, give your material the performance it deserves, and enjoy the process! Coaching for author readings, acting auditions, public speaking, etc. Gillian is a classically trained actress with many years of experience as an actress, director and producer.


I've posted several videos on Nell Gwynn's London, sites associated with Nell's life and/or scenes from The Darling Strumpet.

See them on YouTube




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